DVD Rundown

     BRONCO BULLFROG (RPM; www.rpmrecprds.co.uk). A fab realist movie about working class youth that influenced Pete Townsend's Quadrophenia and has since been a staple of late '60s mod cinema, adored by big cheese Paul Weller and cinema programmer, writer buddy, Paolo Hewitt. The simple tale of Del's love life and escape from London's grim East is both touching and gritty. This is a very poignant slice of kitchen sink drama that shows how not very swinging most of urban London really was! The at odds with the subject matter Audience prog soundtrack adds a further dimension to the film that reggae or soul wouldn't. A creeping, authentic masterpiece, anticipating the dour '70s and showing how unfulfilled outcast youth were in the so-called prosperous '60s.
     A completely different take on the end of the '60s can be seen in The Monkees' iconic HEAD (Rhino; www.rhino.com). By 1968 the pre-fab four were fighting against their cereal box, bubblegum persona and Head put an end to this, disconcerting their young audience. The series of psychedelic vignettes interspersed with an excellent LA Canyon styled soundtrack saw the band move towards the acceptable side of psychedelia. The film's screenplay, co-written by Jack Nicholson, is a surreal rollercoaster ride (notably the opening drowning, the Mickey coke machine desert scene and Mike's birthday party) and cameo by sardonic freak Frank Zappa indicates The Monkees move towards counterculture. People were confused and young fans dismayed… the results a wonderfully crafted satire on the band's celebrity status and fabricated beginnings. In the 'Porpoise Song' and the trippy introduction it also has one of the finest recreations of psychedelia on celluloid. Highly recommended. The widescreen print is to die for to.
     JEFFERSON AIRPLANE… Fly (Eagle Rock; www.amazon.co.uk). This docu-clip festival should be enough to whet the appetite of the most ravenous Airplane fan. Lots of cool TV promos, performances and live footage is interspersed with Katner, Slick and co commenting on their glory days.
     The two cool freebies sent to me by Spike Spriggen, webmaster of the wonderful Bedazzled Blog site (http://bedazzled.blogs.com/), are well worth tracking down. ROCKIN' SOULIN' SCOPITONS features some kooky early '60s movie jukebox reels all in a twist ridden, raw soul, Frenchie and garage style. Meanwhile, BEDAZZLED contains a score of fabulous clips, including Cheap Trick, The Box Tops, Os Mutantes, Scott Walkers, Bee Gees, The Move, Roy Wood, The Cowsills, Beach Boys and more, more, more. Essential.
     Arthur Lee's now ditched/been ditched by his wonderful Baby Lemonade version of Love and is currently residing in Memphis putting together a new version of Love with the crème de la crème of the local garage hounds. LOVE The Forever Changes Concert(Snapper; www.snappermusic.co.uk) recalls a more settled era where a fresh from prison and positive thinking Arthur was on the rebound. I was at the concert where this DVD was filmed and it was stupendous. Arthur may have returned to his old ways, but here, the old dog is almost likeable and his performance is faultless. Kudos also go to Baby Lemonade who recreate Lee's finest moments with a fanboy dexterity that session musos would miss.
     Finally THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP Gimme Some Lovin': Live 1966 (Cherry red;www.cherryred.co.uk) features the great Winwood blues era band running through a lively set prior to Steve's departure and a rather nice TV doc about the making of With Their Face On. Most swinging.
Jon 'Mojo' Mills